Mistakes
by Floragirl101
Summary: Joe and Frank are on a mission when something goes wrong. Frank is left in a coma and Joe regretting what has happened runs away. Hope you like it! Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

Mistakes

By Quincey Gibson

Chapter 1

"Hey, Joe! You ready?"

"Yeah, Frank, I'm ready! What about you?" Joe asked. He looked at his brother. Frank was just putting on his headset.

"I guess. I mean I am a little nervous about being up so high."

Joe slapped his brother across the back and said, "Ah, you'll be fine. And you'll have a great view of the fight."

Frank, the older of the two brothers, ran a hand through his chocolate brown, hair. "I just hope you know what you're doing. I mean, I really don't want to go home and tell Mom and Dad that I let my younger brother get killed by an international smuggler in a wrestling competition. You know what I mean?"

"Yep. But, Frank, you worry too much. Everything will be fine. The police are here ready to nab the guy as soon as I get him to talk. Now, are you ready or not?"

"I'm ready," Frank sighed, knowing that he had lost the battle.

"…and this has definitely been an exciting match, folks. Both fighters look like they aren't going to take defeat lightly. Let's see if the new guy, who goes by the name of The Hardy Bro, loses, it would just be a ditch in the road to success. But if The Master loses, it would be his first loss in this season. Isn't that right, Dan?"

"That is exactly right, Bob. Oh, but enough with the talking let's watch the fight."

Down on the mat, Joe was having a hard time keeping up with The Master, in fighting and talking. Joe who had a hidden microphone on him was trying to get The Master to admit that he was in on the smuggling of illegal drugs. But it was proving to be a much harder task than it had seemed. "So I hear that you are doing drugs," Joe said as he neatly side-stepped a punch.

"How did you hear about that?" Came the reply.

"Oh, from some friends."

"Well, then, yeah. I won't deny it. I do, do drugs."

"Are you selling illegal ones?"

"Why you askin'?"

"I was just wonderin'."

"If I give you the truthful answer will you answer one of my questions?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Yes, I have been smuggling in illegal drugs. And now for my question. Where's your brother?"

Joe didn't want to answer the question but he had no choice as he threw a punch at The Master. "He's up above."

"What do you mean by that?"

Joe sighed. "He's in the beams up above watching us."

"Are you sure about that?"

Before Joe could answer a scream pierced the air and pierced Joe's heart for he knew who's it was. Frank!!

A few minutes earlier, Frank had been watching Joe and The Master fight. When all of a sudden a hand came out of nowhere and spun him around.

"What are you doing up here?" A voice hissed.

"I'm watching my brother fight," Frank replied, thinking that this was one of the guards. But he was sadly mistaken.

"Oh, so that's you're brother down there?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hmmmm. And you're watching him from up here why?"

"Ummmmm, because it's the best place to watch from?"

"Nope, wrong answer, buddy. I think you would enjoy the view from down there much better." And with that statement the man pushed the oldest Hardy boy off the beam.

"Noooooooooo!!" Frank yelled as he fell through the air to the ground below.

Joe looked up and saw his brother falling. He turned and ran a few steps. The boy knew that in order to save his brother he would have to time this perfectly. Then, he started to run, jumped and caught his brother in mid-air. But the momentum that his brother had, took them down fast, and they hit the ground hard!

The younger Hardy was only merely winded and he quickly got up to check on Frank. His brother wasn't moving! He lay there on the mat motionless as people ran all over the building! Joe immediately dropped to his knees and looked his brother over. A nasty lump was quickly forming it's self on the back of Frank's head. Then the paramedics were there taking Frank away from Joe. The boy tried to go after them, but, he couldn't move. He was in shock. Just, what a few hours ago, he had told Frank that everything would be fine and now, Frank was on his way to the hospital.

All of a sudden, Joe knew what he had to do. He gave the police the information that they needed and then found a phone.

"Hey, mom? It's Joe." He bit his lip. "I-I have something to tell you…"

To Be Continued... If you like... Maybe... If You Review... Please...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Laura ran into the waiting room and saw Joe sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. "Oh, baby." As she ran over to him, he looked up. She sat down next to him and asked, "What happened? All you told me over the phone was that Frank had fallen and had gotten hurt."

Joe cleared his throat. "Well, Mom. I was fighting The Master and then he made a comment and then I heard Frank yell. I looked up and he was falling. I caught him, but we still hit the ground hard."

"Have the doctors said anything?"

"No, they haven't come out yet."

Just then Fenton ran into the waiting room with nurses yelling after him. "Is Frank okay? I got here as soon as I could. The judge understood why I had to leave. He postponed the trial. So is he okay?"

"We don't know yet," Laura replied.

Fenton shook his head. "I shouldn't have let you boys take that case. I knew it was too dangerous."

"Dad, it wasn't your fault. We should have been more careful. That's all."

"Yes, but I still shouldn't of let you take this case." Someone cleared their throat from behind him. Fenton turned to find three cops standing there. There was Con Riley, Chief Collig and a man Fenton had never seen before.

"Ah, hello, Fenton. It's good to see you my good, old friend. I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Same here," Fenton said as he gave his old friend a hug.

"And Laura, it's good to see you. How are you doing?"

Laura shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"How's Frank?"

"We don't know."

"Oh. I am truly sorry. Well, we have some business to get out of the way. So could you and Joe come with me? And by the way this is Chief Peterson from the Police Dept. in Bellport," Collig said, addressing Fenton.

"It's nice to meet you Chief Peterson. Are you going to be okay, honey?" Fenton asked his wife.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Anyways, Gertrude is on her way right now. She should be here any minute."

"Okay."

"Well, right this way gentlemen." Collig pointed to one of the doctors' offices.

They all took seats around the desk that was in the middle of the room and looked at each other. "So what did you want to talk to us about?" Joe asked suddenly. "I want to get out of here quickly so I'm out there when the doctor returns with the information."

"Peterson, I don't think now is the time to ask the question you want to ask," Collig informed his companion.

Chief Peterson just shrugged him off. "Let's get straight to the point. Do you think that your son, Frank, might have intentionally thrown himself off the catwalk? You know in an attempt of suicide?" He was not ready for the response he got.

Joe was on his feet immediately. "How dare you say my brother tried to commit suicide!" He yelled in rage. "He would never do anything like that! We were on a case trying to stop some international smugglers and he was caught spying from up above and pushed off the catwalk! He did NOT try to commit suicide!" Fenton eased his son back into his seat.

Peterson looked astonished at the young man's conviction that his brother would not commit suicide. But the thought was still a question to be answered. "I'm sorry that I had to bring it up now. But I had to know what your thoughts were. So that when reporters come I can tell them that it wasn't suicide."

"Well, why do you have to tell them anything at all?" Joe hissed.

"If I don't they will be bothering me until I tell them something."

"I can't stand you!" Joe cried. He stood up so quickly that his chair tipped over backwards and then he left the room.

Joe looked around and saw his mother sitting a ways down the hall. He went over and sat next to her. The next instant he was crying and telling her everything that had happened in the room.

"Shhhhhhh, baby. It's okay," Laura said in a soothing voice.

"No, it's not. He accused Frank of suicide!"

"Yes, but if he really knew Frank, he would know that your brother would not do that." Laura hugged her son tight. She looked up when she heard her name being called. Vanessa Bender, Joe's girlfriend, and Nancy Drew, Frank's girlfriend, were running down the hall towards them.

"What happened? Is Frank okay?" Nancy asked as soon as they were next to Laura and Joe.

"Frank fell and hit his head. And we don't know if he's okay yet," Laura answered.

"Fell from where?" Nancy asked.

"That's not a very normal question," Laura stated.

"Instincts. Now where did he fall from?"

Joe answered. "He fell from the beams that were above the mat that I was fighting on."

"Oh. So it wasn't just a small fall? It was a big one?"

"Yeah," Joe replied, grimly.

Everyone was quiet. Then the doctor came out and called, "Mrs. and Mr. Hardy?"

Laura stood quickly. "Here."

The doctor walked over to where Joe, Vanessa, Nancy and Laura stood. "Hello, Mrs. Hardy. I'm Frank's doctor, Richard Birdworth. I have been monitoring Frank ever since he was brought in."

"Is he going to be okay?" Joe cut in.

The doctor looked uncomfortable for a second and then said, "Well, we don't really know yet. We won't know until he wakes up."

"He hasn't woken up yet!?"

"No, he hasn't."

"But, he should've woken up by now. Shouldn't he have?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But considering the fall that he had, I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure? You're a doctor, for crying out loud! You're supposed to know these things!" Nancy shouted, finally loosing her calm, cool and collected composure.

The doctor looked surprised for a second, but quickly recovered. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But, I have never dealt with a case like this." Nancy fell to the ground sobbing. Vanessa and Joe were by her side in an instant. Doctor Birdworth looked at the friends with sympathy in his eyes. "I am really, truly, sorry." And with that he turned and left them.

Nancy sat on the ground shaking. She had already lost her old boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, to another case, she couldn't loose Frank that way too.

Laura sat in a state of shock. The doctor didn't know what to do? "Oh, Frank. I can't loose you. Please God, not Frank!" She thought. And then she felt arms go around her. She looked up to see her husband. "I heard what the doctor said." Was all that Fenton said.

"Fenton, Frank can't die. He's too young!"

"Don't worry, Laura. He's not going to die."

Laura wept into her husband's shoulder.

Two hours later, the doctor came back into the waiting room, with a solemn expression on his face. "Mr. Hardy?" The doctor addressed Fenton.

"Yes?" Fenton answered.

"May I talk to you in private?"

"Doctor, if you have anything to say, you can say it to the whole family."

Doctor Birdworth looked uncomfortable as he started to talk. "Well, I am very sorry to inform you that… you're son, Frank, just slipped into a coma!"

Joe sat in shock. His brother was in a coma! And he couldn't do anything to help. Laura seeing that her younger son was in distress, quickly went to him. She slid her arms around him and held him as he cried.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As the days continued to pass by, Frank still did not wake up. Joe, no longer able to take the guiltiness he felt, ran away. He couldn't take the sad looks that both his parents and friends gave him. For the love of Pete!! Even complete strangers were giving him sympathetic looks! He just couldn't take it. So one day, one year after what he called his "Big Mistake", he left. He ran away, and no one had any clue as to where he might have gone. One thing Joe didn't count on was the effect that his leaving would take on his parents. They had already lost one child to a coma, and weren't sure if he was ever going to wake up, and now they didn't know where their other son was or if he was okay.

Two years after his leave, found Joe in southern California, living in an old rundown, beat up apartment that some people would say, was on the wrong side of town. He didn't solve mysteries anymore; he had stopped that when he found out that his brother had slipped into a coma. Now he lived by himself, on the other side of the United States, no where near Bayport, and wondered what was happening or what had happened to his brother and his parents.

As Joe sat on his bed, thinking, an idea came to him. "Maybe, I should go home. See my parents. Find out what happened to Frank," he mused. "No, I ran away, my parents would never welcome me back… But what about Frank and Vanessa? I should at least go back to Bayport and see how they are doing. I really miss them." That was it. All it took to push him to his decision was one thought of Frank and Vanessa and Joe was on the phone trying to book a flight to Bayport for as soon as possible.

"Ummm, well sir, the next flight to Bayport leaves in two hours. They have one open seat."

"I'll take it!"

"Great sir, just give me a second and I will have your ticket purchased," the lady on the other end of the line paused. "And there we go! One ticket for the twelve o'clock noon flight, to Bayport."

"Thank you. Bye."

"Good bye, sir. Oh, and don't forget to pick up your ticket at the front desk of United Airlines."

"Thanks." Joe hung up. With that taken care of, he quickly threw some clothing into a duffel bag and ran out the door. He had to get to the airport an hour early. But since the airport was only a half an hour away, by the time he got to the airport he still had an hour and a half.

Ten hours later, Joe was sitting in a cab on his way to Bayport. There had been a lay over in Dallas, Texas, where he had to switch planes. That had cost him a few hours. But he didn't really care. Now that he was back on the east coast and on his way to Bayport, he finally felt good inside. He was going to see Vanessa and hopefully Frank.

The cab finally reached Bayport and the driver asked Joe where he wanted to go. Joe looked at his watch. It was almost eleven at night. He quickly dismissed the idea of going to see Vanessa and told to driver to take him to the Bayport Hotel. Once there, he paid the driver and went in to request a room, only to find out that the hotel was full. Not one single room was empty! "That's different," Joe thought.

"Everyone's here to see the new singer, Jason Calloway, perform this Saturday," said the hotel registration girl. Joe looked to see what the name of the girl was. Her name tag said… Joe did a double take. "Callie?"

The girl looked up. "Yes? Wait, oh my, gosh!! Joe!" Callie ran around the counter and threw her arms around her long time friend. "Where have you been? Were you okay? You just disappeared and none of us knew where you were! I can't believe you're back!!"

Joe hugged Callie back and tried to keep up with her questions. "Ummmm, well, if I remember all of the questions in order, yes, I'm okay, and I've been living in California."

"Well, the questions were in the opposite order but, who cares?!" Callie pulled Joe over to a couch in the lobby of the hotel and sat down. "So, when you get here?"

Looking at his watch Joe answered, "Probably, about an hour ago?"

"Oh, so have you seen your parents yet?"

"No."

"Why not? Don't you want to see Frank?"

"Yes, but I just don't think I should go now. I need to calm my nerves a bit." Joe paused. "Speaking of Frank, how is he?"

Callie sighed. "I don't know, Joe."

"What do you mean you don't know; you're his girlfriend."

"Yeah, and you're his brother."

"Touché. So, how come you don't know how my brother is?" Joe asked.

"He- he- No one knows where he is."

"What do you mean?"

Again Callie sighed. "He woke up, probably a year and a half after you left. Your parents were ecstatic! They were going to go pick him up, and when they got there, Frank wasn't. No one knows where he is. He just… disappeared."

And just like that, Joe's world was shattered again!

* * *

Sorry about the shortness. I'm just having a really hard time getting to my computer to write. Oh, and sorry about the long wait. You see, first the internet connection wouldn't work, then my mom pretty much grounded my from my computer, then, once I could use the computer, I got writer's block. And then, to top it off, as soon as I have the whole chapter written, the internet decides that it doesn't want to work again! It's so frustrating!!

Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. I think it might be a little rushed. And it's not my favorite chapter. So let me know what you think. If you want me to re-write it, I can. Or if you think it's good the way it is, that's fine also. Oh, and if you find any mistakes while reading through, feel free to tell me and I will fix them as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading!

Floragirl101


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